Domestic appliance



Aprilv 5, 1960 L. q. Mlm-:R 2,931,687

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE g INV ENTOR.

H/.S` ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 L. J. MITTER 2,931,687

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed July l0, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheefc 2 A' 'im I I HI.' g: 5* i H E: :l f6 i is i5 ii P I s: Vp/f if "Il Z/ I V'H w gf :a :lii I g7`. T l, H? v 1.1:.. i

INVENTOR.

HIJ:` ATTOR NE V April 5, 1960 l.. J. Mrr'rER 2,931,687

DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed July 10, 1957 s sheets-sheet s a INVENTOR.

laurence d. Ziffer way;y i

HIS ATTRN Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication July 1li, 1957, Serial No. 671,0i1 i cnam. (ci. sia-323)This invention relates to a` domestic appliance and more particularly toa clothes dryer.

An object of the invention is to provide a clothes dryer having arotatable tumbling drum formed with a rear perforated wall with gasheating apparatus for supplying heated air to the tumbling drum, the gasheating apparatus inculding a combustion chamber that extends lengthwiseof the clothes dryer and which supplies heated air to an air manifoldlocated adjacent the rear perforated wall of the tumbling drum which, inturn, supplies heated air to the interior of the tumbling drum throughthe rear perforated wall thereof.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a clothes dryerincluding a rotatable tumbling drum with a gas-fired combustion chamberfor supplying heated air tothe drum, the combustion chamber having anouter housing and an air directing member disposed therein whichpartially encloses a gas burner, the housing yand air directing memberbeing spaced apart to form an air iiow passage that is located betweenthe gas burner and the outer housing.

A further object of this invention is to provide a clothes dryerincluding a cabinet with a top cover member that may be pivoted to aposition wherein the top end of the cabinet is open for access to theinterior of the cabinet.

Further objects and `advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings,`

wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side view of a clothes dryer made inaccordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a side view of the clothes dryer of this invention showingthe structure for slidably and pivotally supporting the top cover memberof the clothes dryer; t

Figure 3 is a top view of the clothes dryer of this invention with thetop cover member removed', taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 4--4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side view, with parts broken away, of the gas heatingapparatus of this invention;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6 6 of Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a plan view of the rear preforated Wall of the clothes dryertumbling drum.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figs. l and 3,the clothes dryer of this invention includes a cabinet generallydesignated by reference numeral 10. The cabinet is formed by -a rearwall 12, sidewalls 14 and 16, and by a front wall 18. The upper open endof the cabinet is Vcovered by a top cover or panelmember 20. The topcover or panel member 20 is slidably and rotatably supported by thecabinet of the clothes dryer in order that the cover member may bepivoted to a substantially vertical position, as-shown in Fig. 2. Tothis end a pair of channel-shaped track members 22 are respectivelysecured to opposite sidewalls of the cabinet lll. Each track member hasa substan- Y 2,931,687 Patented Apr. 5, 1960 tially horizontallyextending portion 23, and an upwardly extending portion 24 th'at mergesinto a relatively short horizontally extending portion 25. The top panelmember 20 is provided with lug members 26 that are secured to the paneland which slide in tracks 22. The panel 20 has a keeper slot 28 thatcooperates with a spring-biased bolt 30 to hold the panel 20 in a lixedposition when the top panel is resting on the dryer cabinet. The bolt3l) normally projects into the keeper slot 28 to prevent slidingmovement of the top panel 20 relative to the cabinet 1t). When it isdesired to pivot the panel 2l) to the position shown in Fig. 2, the bolt3l) is grasped at 32 and pulled downwardly against the spring-bias ofspring 34 to release the top panel member Sil for sliding movement. Thepanel 2t) may then be slid forwardly with the lug members 26 riding inthe tracks 22. When the lug members ride up onto the horizontal portions2S of tracks 22, the panel 2li may be pivoted to the vertical position,thus providing complete access to the interior of the cabinet 10. inthis way the control housing 21 for the dryer, which is attached to thetop panel 20, does not interfere with pivoting of the top panel to avertical position. With the pivotal and slidable arrangement for thepanel 20, the dryer may be placed in a room with the rear wall of thedryer llush with the rear wall of the room, without the room rear wallinterfering with the movement of the panel to the vertical positionshown in Fig. 2.

The clothes dryer of this invention includes a cylindrical tumbling drumgenerally designated by reference numeral 35. The tumbling drum has afront access opening 36, an imperforate peripheral wall 37 formed withtumbling vanes 38, and a rear perforated wall 39, as more particularlyshown in Fig. 7. The tumbling drum is supported for rotation by avertically extending bulkhead 40 that extends entirely across the dryerparallel to but spaced from the rear wall 12 of the dryer. The tumblingdrum is preferably driven by an electric motor 41 through suitablepulley-and-belt mechanism, as shown. The tumbling drum is supplied withheated drying air by a gas-tired heating device generally designated byreference numeral 42. This heating device is located in the upper rightcorner of the dryer cabinet and extends axially of the cabinet, as isevident from the drawings. The heating device supplies air to atransversely extending sheet metal manifold member 43 that is secured tobulkhead 40. The sheet metal manifold member 43 and bulkhead 40 form achamber 45. The bulkhead 40 has an opening at' t6 which is of a shapeconforming to the cross-sectional shape of heating device 42 and whichprovides for communication between the heating device 42 and the chamber45. The bulkhead 4t) has a second transversely extending opening at 47to provide for communication between the chamber 45 and the spacebetween the rear wall 39 of the tumbling drum and the bulkhead 40. Thisspace is sealed off by a felt seal 48 which circumscribes the perforatedarea of the rear wall 39 of the tumbling drum and which is secured tobulkhead 40.

'Ihe front end of the tumbling drum is supported by a ring member (notshown), which is of the type shown and described in copendingapplication Ser. No. 595,437, filed July 2, 1956. The dryer is alsopreferably provided with a door (not shown) that directs air from theaccess opening 36 of the tumbling drum into a vertically extending duct49. This air directing arrangement is preferably like that shown in theabove-mentioned copending application. The vertically extending duct 49is connected with an air-box 50 that contains a lint filter element 51.The air-box 50 is connected with a blower 52 by a conduit 53, The blowermay be driven by an electric motor 41 or may be driven by a separateelec* tric motor. .The outlet of blower 52 is connected to the exteriorof the dryer cabinet by a conduit 54 that extends through bulkhead 4l)and rear cabinet wall i2. IInlet: air is supplied to the heating device412 by openings S6 and 57 formed respectively in the rear wall 12. andin the top panel of the clothes dryer. The direction of air llow throughthe clothes dryer is depicted by the arrows in Fig. 1. Thus, air entersthe front end of air heating device 42, flows through bulkhead di) intochamber 45, then ows through opening 47 in bulkhead 40, thence throughthe rear perforated wall oi tumbling drum 35, thence through accessopening 36 into vertically extending duct 49, and then through blower 52to a point exterior of the dryer cabinet. it can be seen that theVinterior of heating device 42 is at a negative pressure due to theprovision of the blower which constantly pulls air through the heatingdevice and through the remainder of the clothes dryer.

The heating device 412 comprises a sheet metal outer housing 58 that istriangular in cross-section and which extends between points 59 and 6d.The terminal points 59 and 60 are connected by brackets 62 located at0pposite ends of housing S. The housing is made triangular incross-section so that it readily lits within the space formed by thetumbling drum, top wall and one sidewall of the cabinet. As shown, thehousing 58 has a right triangular' cross-section with the legs of thetriangle being located respectively parallel with the top thence throughopening S0 into the space 83 where the heated air is conveyed throughthe heating device 42 into chamber `45. The air passing through space 82serves to cool the outer housing 53, as does the air sweeping along theoutside of the housing 58 and passing leftwardly in Fig. 1 from passages56 and S7 to the open end 64 of the heating device 52. lt can thus beseen that a counter-ow of air is set up in that the air ows forwardly tothe open end 64 of heating device 42 and thence rearwardly into chamber`d5. It can be seen that the products of combustion are supplied to thetumbling drum with the construction of this dryer.

The gas burner 75 is supplied with gas from an inlet y pipe 84 connectedwith a suitable supply of gas and is panel 2t) and `one sidewall 114 ofthe cabinet and with whichterminates at points 67 and 68, extendslengthwise of the housing 53. A third sheet metal member 69 is iixed tohousing 58 and to a pair of end caps 71 and 72 that are secured to airdirecting member66. The front end cap 72 is provided with an opening 73having a lower cylindrical cross-section, while the rear end cap 71carries gas burner supports 714. A tubular gas burner 75 having the topports 76 rests within the openingV 73 and on the supports 74. The gasburner may be of any conventional type having a longitudinal bore thatis supplied with gas and primary air from its rear end and wherein thebore communicates with ports 7'6. The gas burner is located betweensheet metal member 69 and one sidewall of air directing member 66. Theair directing member '66 has openings 66a which aid in gas combustionwhen the blower 52 is not operating. The entire burner assembly 42 issupported in the upper righthand corner of the dryer cabinet between thetumbling drum of the dryer and the top panel 2li of thedryer. The burnerassembly 42 is secured to one sidewall 14 by a bracket 78 that fitsthrough a slot formed in a channelshaped portion of sidewall 14. Theburner is spaced from the sidewall by a bump 7 8a. l

It should be noted that the particular construction `of the gas heatingdevice 42 provides for a longitudinally extending opening at 79 that isdisposed below burner 75. A longitudinally extending opening is alsoprovided at `80, detined by the top edge of sheet metal member 69 andthe top wall of air directing member 66. A longitudinally extendingIopening is also provided at 81 due to the fact that the air directingmember 66 terminates at point 67.

By reference to Figs. l, 4 and 6 it can be seen that air entering thedryer cabinet through passages '56 and 57 will be supplied to the frontopen end 64 of heating device 42. This air flows longitudinally throughspace `82 4formed by outer housing '5S and air directing mem# ber 66into chamber d5. Air will also flow through space 33 and will be heatedby combustion of gas issuing from ports 76 and then passes into chamber45. Air will also flow upwardly through opening 79, thence through'opening 51, then around gas burner 75 and supplied with primary airthrough openings in the rear end of burner 75. The inlet pipe 84 isconnected with a shut-oli valve 85 and with a conventional pressureregulating valve 35. The pressure regulating valve is connected with aconventional solenoid valve structure S7 having an outlet connected witha pipe 38 that is directly connected with gas burner 75. It should benoted that the gas supply apparatus for the gas burner as well as thecombustion chamber 42 are all located above the axis of the tumblingdrum 39 and above a major portion of the tumbling drum. The gas supplyapparatus and the gas heating device 42 are placed in this position inorder that they may be easily serviced when the top panel 22 is moved toan open vertical position. Thus, when the top panel Ztl is moved to theposition in Fig. 2, easy accessV to the gas supply apparatus 84, 85, 86and S7 and to the gas heating device 42, is afforded.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that yother formsmight be adopted, as may f come within the scope of the claim whichfollows.

What is claimed is as follows:

A hinged cover arrangement for a ilush-to-room wall mounted dryercabinet having front, rear and side walls and an upwardly extendingcontrol housing on said cover comprising a channel shaped track memberhaving a rst horizontally arranged portion fixed to an upper edge of oneof said cabinet side walls and an upwardly 'extending cam portion at anangle with said upper edge and merging into a relatively short secondhorizontally arranged portion, said second horizontally arranged portionspaced from said first horizontally arranged portion, said track memberextending from the rear wall of said cabinet to a point forwardlythereof with the second horizontal portion being forwardly disposed, anda lug member secured to said cover member and having a protuberancesubstantially in line with the rear of said control housing and slidableand rotatable in said track member, whereby when said cover member' isslidably moved forwardly of said room wall, said protuberance moves fromsaid rst horizontally arranged portion to said second horizontallyarranged portion to permit said cover member and said control housing topivot without engaging said room wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,216,239 Haseltine Oct. 1, 1940 2,241,884 Noblegr. May 13, 19412,357,214 McDole Aug. 29, 1944 '2,590,028 Miller Mar. 18, 1952 2,682,351Durand June 29, 1954 2,690,905 Smith Oct. 5, 1954 2,748,496 Hellyer June5, 1956 2,776,826 Bennett et al. Jan. 8, 1957 2,797,567 Heien July 2,1957 2,798,302 Reiter July 9, 1957 2,314,886 Fowler Dec. 3, 1957 FOREIGNPATENTS 144,204 Austria Jan. 10, 1936

